Isn't It Good?
by Sass Master
Summary: Tifa sends mixed signals when she invites Reno to her apartment. 4th in a collection of 14
1. Isn't It Good?

Greetings! Another one-shot from me! This time it's a bit longer (Thank GOD!) It is also based on a song (song-fic with no lyrics, as it was once described). I won't tell you which one, so major brownie points to anyone who can guess! (The title is a huge hint—or should be.) I'm considering getting a time line going for the fics I've written so far, so just know that this takes place after "Stupid Questions, Obvious Answers" (aka the fic with the worst name ever.) Anyway, on with the fic.

He usually preferred inviting the girls to HIS place… but he wasn't complaining. He was actually pretty surprised that she'd even taken him to her home at all. He knew it wasn't… well, it wasn't for _that._ He laughed to himself shortly—he should only BE so lucky. But her motivation for asking him inside was still a mystery.

However, as she turned the key in the lock and opened the door, beaming at him quickly before stepping over the threshold, her reasons became obvious.

The place was quite clearly brand-new, and all hers—she must have been very proud of it and simply dying to show it off.

That would've explained all the inane grinning. It couldn't possibly be for… something else. To reiterate, he should only be so lucky.

Still, it was unusual for him to be invited to a woman's home, and not the other way around.

He followed her in, getting a better view of his surroundings—barren though they were. It was a very recent move, he could tell. Either that, or she'd spent so much on the place itself that she couldn't afford furniture. He could see a few things in the kitchen, and assumed she was smart enough to at least have purchased a bed for herself.

Standing just inside the doorway as she closed the door behind him, he saw her frown slightly before beaming again.

"Come on!" she implored him, grabbing him by the hand and leading him to the middle of what appeared to be the sitting room—if one preferred to sit without a chair.

"Make yourself at home," she said, dropping his hand and turning to head into the kitchen. "Sit anywhere."

He watched her intently as she walked away, paying particular attention to the way she moved and how she looked while doing it. He shook his head, clearing those thoughts from his mind. _Dammit Reno! For the last time, that's not why she invited you here! _

Looking around again, he noticed a slight problem. "Hey Tifa?" he called.

"Yeah?" She said, poking her head around the corner, then returning from the kitchen, carrying two glasses and a bottle of red wine, which, strangely, was lacking a label.

"You told me to sit, but there's no furniture in here," a smirk played across his face.

She was thoroughly embarrassed, but tried to cover it up by smiling. "Well then Reno… I guess we're sitting on the floor," she offered, promptly plopping down on the carpet. He shrugged and followed suit, landing on her floor with a slight thud. She couldn't suppress a tiny giggle. His eyes narrowed a little because she was laughing at him, but it just made the situation funnier to her. Reno's dignity was at stake, so he sought an escape from his ridicule.

"So uh… what's goin' on here?" he asked, pointing to the bottle in her left hand. He was genuinely curious. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself that she hadn't invited him over for casual sex, she seemed to make moves contradicting that. Then again she _could _have invited him for… not-casual sex. But either way, he wasn't about to get ahead of himself.

"Oh!" she looked at it almost as though she were surprised to see it. "I'm glad you asked," she said, smiling. She released the cork with a pop that echoed in the empty spaces of her new apartment.

"I've started experimenting with making my own wine," she explained, pouring the substance into a glass. "I think maybe the alcohol content is a little high… Anyway, I was hoping maybe you could try it for me," she stopped all of a sudden. She abruptly started to wonder if it was a bit presumptuous of her to just assume he'd be her personal wine-tester. "I mean… if you wanted to…"

"Of course," he replied with a killer grin.

Tifa blushed, partially because she felt foolish for doubting herself so often. It was mostly because of the way he was smiling at her, but there was no way in hell she was going to admit that, not even to herself.

She took a deep breath, topping off his glass and handing it to him. "I know wine isn't really your thing—" she started.

"Yeah?" he said, having been about to test his drink. "How would you know that?"

"Reno, I'm your bartender," she said, smiling somewhat smugly as she poured some for herself. "I'm supposed to know these things."

He nodded. He liked the way she smiled… He wasn't entirely sure what made him think that, but he couldn't deny it. He found himself staring. He liked other things about her too… but he figured if he were caught staring at the other things he liked he'd find himself in serious pain. He tried to scrape up a little tact.

Glancing at the off-white carpet beneath him, he became very aware and slightly paranoid of the red wine he was holding. God forbid he spill it on her rug, in her brand new house she was so endearingly proud of. He was painstakingly careful in taking a sip of her wine.

"You were right," he said, and she knitted her eyebrows. "Wine really isn't my thing," Her frowned deepened. "But I think… this may be an exception."

Tifa's face lit up. "Do you like it?" she asked, excited but trying to subdue the blatancy of it.

He nodded behind his glass. "Have you tried it?"

She once again looked surprised by what she was holding in her hand. "Oh! No, I haven't."

"Yeah, well, you should."

She had to admit that she agreed. She'd worked so hard making it; it only made sense for her to taste it. She took a small sip and smiled. She was obviously pleased with the results of all her effort, but too humble to really show it.

"Good huh?" He said. Tifa couldn't get over the suspicion that he was just being nice, but she concurred.

"Ya gonna serve it in the bar?"

"No… No, I don't think so. No one asks for wine there, not even the cheap stuff," she told him.

"I would," Reno said, despite the fact that they were both in agreement that he just wasn't a wine person.

"You'd be a fool then," she said, chuckling faintly.

"Eh?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Well you just got some for free without even asking," she clarified.

His laugh was similar in timbre to hers. "Right… I guess I'd be pretty stupid to pay for it, huh?"

He watched her pour herself another glass. He hadn't even noticed her finish the first one.

Reno made Tifa nervous. She was aware of it, but didn't think he needed to be. Drinking her wine, however, made her less nervous. A part of it probably had to do with the comfort that came in knowing that she made it herself, but it was primarily because of the alcohol. Alcohol was notorious for clearing people of their inhibitions.

So they talk and they drank and they drank and they talked. By the time Tifa checked the clock—she'd actually thought to purchase a clock— it was already closing in on two in the morning, and the bottle of wine was nearly empty. It seemed like a lot to drink, but considering how long they'd been sitting there, the effects of the alcohol weren't as severe.

They were severe _enough_ though.

Tifa had had most of the wine, of that much Reno was certain, but he'd had enough to get a slight buzz too. There was the drinking he'd done at the bar too, but he couldn't recall how much he'd consumed. He hadn't been paying attention to what he was doing. If he were to be perfectly honest, at the time, he'd been paying more attention to her.

Now he was leaning against the wall of her stark apartment. She'd somehow ended up settled in his lap, resting on his chest with contentment and fatigue. She made note of how the clock read. "Oh… it's late…" she commented, still making no effort to move. "We should go to bed," she suggested.

Reno raised an eyebrow. "…What?"

"I _mean_," she said, abruptly rising to her feet, grabbing his hand to pull him up as well, but inevitably using his weight as a counterbalance when she nearly fell over. "That _I _need to go to bed," she said, swaying forward and leaning on him for stability.

"Why?" he asked, gripping her shoulders so she wouldn't fall backwards. He knew she wasn't all that drunk; it was just the combination of the alcohol and lethargy that was affecting her grace. "It's not that late."

"Well _I_," she jabbed a finger in his chest, "have to work in the morning!" She suddenly burst into a fit of giggles. Reno was about to point out to her that she didn't have to work in the morning because the bar didn't open until late in the day, but then he realized that was why she was laughing. _Duh._

He didn't budge or let go of her and she frowned at him.

"I gotta go to beeeed!" She pouted. "You need to go hoooome!" Reno tried to think of a good counter but lost his opportunity. "Oh, but you've been drinking!" Realization dawned on her face. "I can't send you out now…"

"Hey, I don't work in the morning, so I guess I don't need to go anywhere," he proclaimed, sauntering off towards the back of the apartment.

"What? Where are you going? You can't stay here! I don't have any furniture except for my bed!" With that, he stopped for a moment to turn around and give her a mischievous smirk, then disappeared around the corner.

Her eyes went wide and she promptly followed in the direction he went. "Reno! What are you thinking! Just because I invite you to my house and give you highly-alcoholic wine doesn't mean that—" She walked into her bedroom and found him no where in sight.

"…Reno?" She checked the bathroom behind her, and found him attempting to make a bed out of her bathtub. "What are you—?"

"Shh," he said with a finger to his lips. "It's bedtime," He didn't even open his eyes when he spoke to her.

"But—!" He held up a finger to silence her, eyes still closed. "Fine!" she exclaimed. "_Sleep _in the bathtub! _I'm _going to sleep in my _bed _like a _normal_ person!" She turned on her heel towards the hallway. It was hard to tell, but Reno was pretty sure that her anger and frustration weren't real, or in the very least, they were embellished.

Stopping at the door, she glared at him. "And I'm locking my door! You've been looking at me _funny _all night!" She walked off with a 'hmph!'

He was a bit disconcerted that she'd noticed how he was looking at her. Damn, and he'd been trying so hard too. That just proved that no matter how hard he tried, his mind refused to move from its residence in the gutter.

However, his reclined position in the bath and the soporific effects of the wine kept him from dwelling on it for too long.

When he awoke, he was alone. In the back of his mind, he knew he was a little disappointed to have woken up by himself. He had a slight headache, but it was more due to where he'd spent the night than from the wine. His vision was blurred too, but blurred a pale yellow. _The hell—?" _He lifted a hand to his forehead and found a piece of paper taped to it. It was much easier to see without it obstructing his eyes.

"_Reno,"_

Tifa's handwriting was neat and feminine. He liked it.

"_I can't believe you actually slept in the bathtub. Doesn't your back hurt?"_

It did hurt. It hurt like fucking hell.

"_I may not have had to work this morning, but I did have to run out to do some errands. I think maybe I'll look for a couch or something…"_

He chuckled at this.

"_Anyway, I'm sorry it's so cold. Apparently the heat in the building needs fixing. Whenever you decide to regain consciousness, feel free to let yourself out. You know where the door is._

"_Oh, and you left a whole bunch of muddy footprints on my nice clean rug. You're paying to have it cleaned._

—_Tifa."_

He could practically hear the jest in her last statement, but still winced. He'd been so concerned about spilling the wine, he hadn't even thought about all the mud he'd tracked in with the melting snow.

When he climbed out of the tub he winced again. _Fuckin' hell! _That would have to be the last time he willingly slept in a bathtub.

The apartment was cold, like she said it would be, but that wasn't the only thing that he noticed when he returned to the living room. There was a fireplace near the corner.

Surely a fire would heat the place up. He made a perfunctory grab for his lighter in the pocket of his jacket. When he didn't find it, he remembered he was trying to quit smoking. He also remembered why he was trying to quit smoking in the first place. _Tifa and her weird opinions of smokers…_ Fortunately, he spotted a lighter on the mantle.

Lighting a quick fire, he slumped down on the floor, spread eagle and waiting for the house and for himself to warm up before he headed out.

But after he thought about it, he realized one couldn't leave a fire unattended. Lucky him—another perfectly legitimate excuse to stay in her house. He sighed with a faint smile, still sprawled out on her now muddy carpet.

Reno briefly wondered if she really would buy a couch, or at least SOME furniture.

Of course, he'd have to stay and test that out too, just like the wine.

Isn't it good?

Pssh, so the ending line's a little weird. I wanted it in there anyway—if you knew the song you'd know why! XP

I'll thank you all to ignore the fact that it's a bit hard to make one's own wine XD


	2. Norwegian Wood

Hey, I wasn't expecting me to update it either. I decided to take my one-shot with the most hits and reviews and continue it to some extent. It was this one, obviously. It had almost twice as many hits as ALL the other fics. Makes me a little sad when I think that it was written on borrowed talent XD The song, if you can't tell by this title, was 'Norwegian Wood,' by The Beatles. Go download it if you don't know it. Anyway, I was a bit concerned I might ruin a good thing if I continued, but I went for it so I'm hoping I was wrong. Let's hear your opinion.

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"Hey."

A hand nudged him in the ribs. _Hey yourself, _he thought irritably.

The poking got more severe. "_Hey! _Wake up."

_Uhh? _Reno opened his eyes to find Tifa staring down at him. "I wasn't sleepin'…" he said unconvincingly. He most certainly had been, of course.

She frowned and folded her arms. "Have you been in my liquor cabinet?"

"…You have a liquor cabinet?" He wished he'd known that sooner.

She shook her head and picked up the grocery bags she'd set down near his hand. "Never mind."

He still hadn't moved—he was probably too stiff to—and watched her leave as best his position would allow. He wondered if she knew that he could see up her skirt from where he was. It was one of those rare occasions he thought better of commenting—he didn't really feel up for an ass kicking.

"I'm not letting you sleep there, you know," It was a shame—he hadn't really any plans to stay awake. "I mean it's one thing you sleep in my bathtub…"

He rolled over and rested his chin on his folded arms so he could somewhat see her in the kitchen. "Well if you'd invited me into your bed we wouldn't be having this problem," he said with a hint of a smile, even though she had disappeared from view.

"No," she mused, returning to the living room after a moment, "We'd be having an entirely different problem."

He smirked at her as she drew closer. "Says you," He was going to say something else but was cut off when she grabbed him by the arm and effectively pulled him to his feet. "Oww, watch it would you?" Not that he had any further aspirations to, but he was NEVER sleeping in a bathtub again. He followed her back into the kitchen.

"What, are you all sore from spending the night on cold, hard tiles?" She stood next to him and imitated the way he leaned forward on her counter.

He feigned distress. "Yes. It's murder on the spine. I could really use a massage…" He desperately hoped she'd take the bait.

She walked off and started to put away groceries. "Yeah, I bet," she said pleasantly.

The thought of offering him a massage probably hadn't even occurred to her. _Dammit. _He'd get her eventually… "So did you get a couch or were you not actually serious about that?"

"Oh no, I was serious, but I haven't gone yet. Would you like to come with me?"

"Well, actually—"

"I'm not letting you sleep here."

_Well, so much for that plan. _"…Then sure."

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Tifa had to suffer his ridicule all the way to the furniture store when he realized she had a fully functional set of chairs with a table in the kitchen, and they'd spent the entire time on her carpet. It also resulted in a complete rehash of what had occurred the prior evening. He seemed to think she needed reminding despite the fact that she had been there the entire time, as he had.

"You invite me up to your place, try to get me drunk, tell me there's no furniture and then conveniently use me for a chair. Oh, and then you tell me I can't leave and I, just as conveniently, have to spend the night. You know, a man could get ideas…"

"Ideas?"

She had to know what he meant. Or did she just want him to say it so she had an excuse to beat him up?

"Y'know, like you want me to lure me into your bedroom and jump my bones."

"I don't."

"Will you let me know when you change your mind?"

"I don't think I'll have to let you know," she replied calmly, opening the front door of the furniture store. "If Hell freezes over, I'm sure it will be on the news."

He grumbled something as they went inside.

They were ambushed by a perky saleslady within seconds. "Good afternoon! And how are we today?"

Tifa seemed uncomfortable with the woman. "Oh, um, we're fine, tha—"

But the woman had already turned to Reno. "Looking to buy some furniture with your girlfriend?"

Tifa turned red at the assumption and then pale when she caught the grin on Reno's face. He knew by now she'd learned to recognize when he was up to something. "Oh, um, we're not—"

But she'd have to be quicker than that. Reno promptly threw an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Oh yes," he said dramatically, "My girlfriend and I are moving into our new _love nest,_" He smirked at Tifa and the indignant look that graced her face as he said that, "All that's left is the living room and the bedroom. And I'm afraid to say, that we probably won't be shopping here for the bedroom…"

He seemed to have the saleslady's interest, as she leaned closer in a silent request for him to elaborate. He cleared his throat. "You see, Tifa here has got kind of a…" he signaled for the woman move in even more. "Well, her taste is kind of _wild_, if you know what I mean…" The woman looked embarrassed at what he was implying, but he didn't care. The point had been to embarrass Tifa—but _she _looked like she was about to tear his throat out. "Isn't that right baby?" he addressed her. She said nothing, just glowered at him. He loved doing this to her.

"Well just…" The saleswoman looked ready to flee, and her perkiness seemed to have vanished. "Just come and find me if you need anything," And she was gone.

Tifa turned on him and smacked him on the arm. "Why do you do these things to me?"

"Cause I really dig it when you hit me," He grinned at her. She hit him again. "Hey, don't go nuts over it…"

"Is this what I get for inviting you over? Cause if that's the case, then forget it, I'm not ever doing it again."

"Like it's such a loss to me. With your nonexistent furniture and your muddy carpet…"

"My carpet is muddy because of YOU!"

"Well your bathtub is uncomfortable!" He was only faking being angry, but he wasn't sure if she was. They bickered for a few more minutes—the stupidity of his last comment didn't seem to faze her—before another employee, a man this time, walked over.

"Can I help you?"

Tifa stopped to smile at him. "Oh no thank you, we're just browsing."

"All right," he smiled back at her and Reno kind of didn't like the way he was looking at her. "If you and your boyfriend need any thing, feel free to ask."

"Oh, Reno here's not my boyfriend," she glanced at Reno and he knew he was in for it. She was getting revenge. "You see," she put her hand on his arm and he wanted to do something to prevent whatever was going to happen, but he had no idea where she was going with it. "Reno doesn't like girls… he likes men. He umm… oh, what was it you called it?" She turned to Reno, pretending to be trying to think of something. "Oh right. He 'plays for the other team,'" She smirked at him smugly when she turned to him again. "If you get my drift…"

_Ouch_. Reno thought her vengeance was duly gotten. And he suddenly didn't like the way the salesman was looking at _him _either. He grumbled. "We'll call you if we need you," he said and pulled Tifa away. She giggled, apparently pleased with herself.

He glared at her and she just shrugged, smiling innocently. She walked slowly, perusing the items as she went. Reno wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to be doing, so he sat on a nearby sofa. He thought it was kind of funny that people assumed they were together. It suited him perfectly well—any man would want to be seen in public with a girl like Tifa. And either way, he couldn't blame them for coming to that conclusion. Shopping for furniture _was _kind of a couple-y… thing…

"Ugh, Reno, don't sit on that couch," she commented from a few meters away.

He paused, wondering if he'd sat in something questionable, but he didn't leap up, lest he look like a sissy little girl. "I guess you don't like it?"

"Oh no it's perfectly fine. But you clash," she explained. She made a face. "_Horribly_…"

He was silent for a while. "…What?"

"Your hair. Don't you know that's why redheads can't pull off wearing pink?"

So he was sitting on a pink couch. Big deal. He narrowed his eyes. "Well I'm not _wearing _pink, and I wasn't planning on it, thanks," He _did _value his masculinity after all…

"Don't sit there," she said simply, and walked away.

He wasn't sure why, but he was inclined to listen. It was kind of funny that she considered whether or not he 'clashed' with the couch she was potentially buying.

But he'd lost sight of her, so he wandered off in some random direction and chose a new couch—he made sure it complemented his hair—and stretched out on the entire length of it, not paying any mind to his muddy shoes. It was certainly more comfortable than a bathtub or a floor…

"Hey."

_Well isn't this familiar? _He quickly opened one eye, hoping he could spare himself from the finger jabs to the ribs. "I wasn't sleepin,'" That was familiar too.

"Hmm, I'm sure," Tifa slid next to him on the couch, surveying the store. "I haven't really seen anything I liked," She turned to face him as best she could. "What about you?"

"Uhh…" He hesitated. He was actually a bit distracted by having her in such close proximity. In addition to that, he obviously had been sleeping instead of looking for something to buy. "I like this one," he said grinning.

She looked contemplative for a moment and rose to her feet in front of him, prompting him to sit up.

"You know…" She put a finger to her cheek in thought and shifted her weight from side to side. He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. "So do I," she said smiling. "I mean, it's way better than anything I've seen so far, and it'll go great in my place… I'm gonna go ask someone about it."

Personally, he found it a bit suspicious that none of the furniture in the store had a labeled price.

He resisted lying back down, knowing he'd fall asleep if he did. Even then, he could feel himself nodding off. He snapped himself out of it when he saw Tifa return. She looked disappointed, and he could see a salesman not far behind. She'd obviously spoken with him.

"It figures," she said miserably, sitting down beside him. "It's way out of my price range…"

He frowned. He really _did _like the couch, even if he'd only said so as an alibi for sleeping through the whole shopping expedition. And it would certainly be a lot more comfortable sleeping on that than her floor or her tub…

"Miss?" Both their heads snapped up at the sound of the salesman's voice. Reno was glad to see it wasn't the one from earlier. "We have some more things downstairs," he pointed in the direction he was indicating, "If you'd like to take a look."

"Oh…" Tifa didn't seem so gung-ho about it—she must've liked the couch more than he thought. "All right…" she said getting up.

"…I'm gonna stay here," he told her.

"All right…" she said again, just as absently.

He watched her until she was out of sight. The salesman was still close by. "Hey, uhh…" He looked at the man's nametag. _What the fuck kind of name is that? What are people thinking when they name their kid something that NO ONE can pronounce? _"Hey uhh," With nothing to address the guy by, Reno found himself being ignored. And he'd be damned if he was gonna call him 'sir' or some shit… _God this guy is oblivious… _The salesman—more of a kid, really—seemed to be zoning out, so Reno hauled himself off the couch and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh, can I help you, sir?"

Reno rolled his eyes. _Why yes, actually, you can. _"Yeah, how much was that couch she asked about?" He winced at the information. _The hell kind of store is this anyway?_ "All right… I need a favor."

"A favor?" He looked confused, and even more so when Reno pulled out his wallet.

"Yeah," he shelled out a good amount of cash. Elena nagged him about carrying so much money around, but he wasn't really sure where anyone was going to get off trying to mug him. The kid looked on the verge of panic for some reason. _What does he think this money is for?_

"I want you to take this money and put it for payment on _that _couch," He pointed his thumb behind him to specify the one he wanted. The boy-with-the-unpronounceable-name took the money with a strange look, nodding. "Okay. I'm going to go outside. When she comes back upstairs, tell her you know that it's going to be on sale next week—make a big show that you shouldn't be telling her that—and that she should come back. When she does, sell it to her at the price you told me minus… whatever I gave you."

Reno got a grin in response. "Tryin' to get on her good side huh? I don't blame you—she's really hot. I wouldn't mind—"

"Running your mouth like that can get your ass kicked, kid. Don't forget that. And by the way, don't even think about cheating me out of my money. If you fuck this up, I'll find out about it, and there will be consequences," The sales-kid looked almost scared now, and Reno was weirdly pleased about that. He still had it in him… "Thank you, come again, and have a nice day," he said, with a smirk and a wave as he left the store.

He leaned against the brick building, wishing again that he'd brought a lighter and some cigarettes with him—not so much for the nicotine, but for lack of anything better to do.

When Tifa emerged from the store she had an odd, but happy look on her face. "You know that salesman I talked to about the couch?"

"Oh yeah, that guy with the name I couldn't pronounce."

"…Simon?"

_All right, massive stupidity moment. _"Err, yeah, him. What about him?"

"Well, you're not going to believe this…"

He believed every word.

Once his stomach got the better of him, he insisted they get something to eat. She suggested she cook something for him at her place, and he had a suspicion that her reluctance to go out with him somewhere for a meal had to do with the first 'date' they'd had.

While they walked, Reno couldn't help but get annoyed over the number of men who undressed Tifa with their eyes as they passed her. Sure, he'd been guilty of the same thing on… several occasions, but in when it came down to it, it was an insult to him too. Who were these guys to assume that he wasn't her boyfriend or something? What, a guy like him couldn't possibly be with a girl like her?

His arm was on her waist again, and if she minded, she didn't say anything. And that was something he was extremely grateful for. It did his ego good to see that fewer men were staring at her, even more so when they looked at him with jealousy.

But he couldn't help his hand from wandering…

"You know, you can stop 'accidentally' touching my butt at any time," Tifa said after a while.

"You like it," he accused.

"And how do you figure that exactly?"

He grinned. "If you didn't you would have told me to stop sooner."

She removed his hand and rolled her eyes as she opened the door to her apartment.

He could tell that Tifa missed cooking for people. She seemed eager to ask what kind of food he wanted, how he wanted it, and how much he wanted. It worked well enough for him—he was starving and he'd heard good things about the food she made. Once he tasted it, he regretted as much as she appeared to that she didn't serve meals in her new bar, like she had in the old one. _Then again, better I get it for free…_

He suddenly excused himself from the table by getting up and stalking away without a word.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm tired."

"Oh…"

He smirked, wondering how long it would take her to notice that he wasn't heading for the door.

"Hey! I told you I'm not letting you sleep on my floor."

"I wasn't planning on it," By that point she had come after him. He awaited further commentary as he turned into her bedroom.

"Ohhh no. I don't think so," But he'd already flopped down on his back on one side of the bed. She sat on the other side, being a bit more patient with him than he would have expected. "C'mon," she nudged him in the side when she didn't open his eyes.

"Shh."

That made her tolerance wane slightly. "No!" she leaned towards him and moved one of his shoulders up and down. "I'm serious!"

"Geez, I dunno how a guy's supposed to get any sleep around here with you yakkin' like that," he smirked, picturing her expression turning even more infuriated.

"Reno!" she turned over completely and shook both his shoulders. "Wake _up_!"

She carried on like that for a while, eventually slumping forward and resting her head on his chest in defeat. "You're impossible…" she mumbled.

When he thought of the situation he was in, he was grateful for the fact that he was terribly stubborn when he felt like it. After a few minutes, he was curious about the fact that Tifa has stopped, and a little disappointed that she'd given up so quickly.

But she wasn't the only one who'd been tired, apparently—she'd fallen asleep half on top of him. He put an arm around her again and let himself drift off into the sleep he'd been after all day.

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**I had at least one person proof read everything except the last bit, so sorry if there are any mistakes. Thanks to Rachie for her input.**

**Please, PLEASE review. Do it for John Lennon.**


	3. This Bird Has Flown

**ONE IMPORTANT REQUEST BEFORE I GET INTO THINGS! I only ask that if you're going to review this story, try to be specific about chapters. They are all different and a lot of effort went into making each of the individually, so it's a bit frustrating to see them all lumped together into one 'I like this fic,' or something to that effect. I'm not entirely sure what I'm asking for, but I hope I'm getting my point across. Anyway, this is the third and final chapter. I'm afraid the writing/wording/editing may be a bit rushed—I was a bit anxious to get this finished. So if the quality is lacking… sorry. Read on.**

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Restful sleep… 

He thought to himself as he shifted, not yet letting his eyes open.

…_Is the best kind of sleep. _Nice sheets and a mattress sure beat the hell out of anything he'd slept on in the past twenty-four hours. He cracked an eyelid and looked down at Tifa.

Waking up with her on top of him wasn't too shabby either. That made him smirk, before he realized…

_Oh right. Clothes. _That was awfully disappointing.

It sort of amused him that she woke up only moments after he did. She looked startled when she caught sight of him, despite that fact that she'd seemed perfectly content using him for a pillow. He grinned. "Something wrong?"

"Oh…" she looked around slowly, blinking. "No. It's just for a second I thought…"

"You thought…?"

"I thought we…" she trailed off, blushing.

He grinned wider. "No worries babe. If we did anything kinky, you'd remember. I can guarantee you of that," His arm was still around her, but if she hadn't said anything, he certainly wasn't going to.

She scoffed. "Bold statement," she said, resting her head on him, where it had been on his chest when she slept, and closing her eyes again.

"Are you looking for me to prove it?"

Her eyes opened again and narrowed into a glare. "No."

"Yeah, well, the fact that you're trying to undress me proves otherwise."

She looked terribly confused for a moment. "…Huh?"

He gestured to his chest, where two of his buttons had been undone from her clutching at his shirt as she slept. Further inspection revealed her hand wrapped around his belt. He thought he'd something felt something slightly askew…

Her eyes widened. "Oh!" she abruptly pulled her hand away. "Sorry…" he wondered if she knew how attractive it was when she turned red like that. Not that she'd ever believe him had he told her.

"Hey," he shrugged. "Apologize when you've got something to apologize for," He allowed a smirk near the end of his sentence. Personally, he didn't really mind the fact that she was trying to take his clothes off in her sleep… She didn't shift from where she was or make any effort to remove herself from his grip. He figured she was too embarrassed to attempt to do anything at the moment.

"What time is it?" she asked after a while.

The clock was on his side. "'Bout seven… Hey, don't you have to go to work?"

"Umm, what day is it?" she asked quietly, tensing a little. It sounded to him like something he'd ask.

He had to think for a minute. "Uhh… Sunday?"

"Oh, okay," She relaxed again. "Then no, I don't."

"Hmm," He didn't feel like giving a verbal response, and he still wasn't much up to moving. Though it was usually difficult for him to keep his mouth shut. "Hey, can I tell people we slept together now?"

She answered him behind the curtain of hair that fell over her face. "I'd prefer you didn't."

"Fine. I'll just have to say we had sex."

"Well saying we slept together would have been true, even if you didn't mean sleeping. But saying THAT would be lying."

"Okay… we'll just have to make it true then," he let his eyes travel from the ceiling to her as he smirked.

"Fat chance."

"You'll be eating your words someday."

"Yeah, yeah…" she mumbled, snuggling a little closer. Suddenly, she sat up. "Ahhh, no, I can't go back to sleep now, my whole schedule's gonna be messed up."

"…What should we do then?"

She bit her lip in hesitation. He'd already told her a man could get ideas… he was starting to get some of those ideas right now…

"Well, uhh…" He saw the blush creep onto her face and he couldn't figure out if she was really going where he prayed she was going, or she honestly just had no idea how to answer his question. "We could…" He wanted to laugh at the way she was avoiding his eyes. "Go outside in the snow."

He then realized she'd been looking past him out the window—they'd slept through half a blizzard. "Err, yeah, we could do that…"

"Did you have something else in mind?" she asked over her shoulder from the edge of the bed.

Well, YEAH… He stared at her. 

"Let's go then," she said cheerfully, grabbing his hand and pulling him out the door. God, he was never so chipper after just waking up…

Once they were outside—and realizing how cold it was—he had to ask…

"You're going out in weather like this…" he looked her up and down, "Dressed like _that?_" He gestured to what she was wearing.

"Umm…" She shuffled her feet and kicked at a snowdrift. "Yeah… so?"

He shrugged. "Hey, I'm not complaining," The fact that she frequently wore short skirts was, in his opinion, never anything to complain about. "But you're gonna be cold ya know," He wasn't sure why he _cared, _but…

"I'll be fine," she insisted. "I'm used to this kind of thing," She sauntered off, staring up at the snowflakes that fell on her face.

He supposed growing up in a pissant mountain town did prepare a person for the cold. Then again, it _was _an awfully small outfit…

Reno just stood there stupidly as his mind wandered. He hadn't seen where Tifa had gone and didn't feel immediately inclined to follow her. He wasn't exactly much one for _frolicking… _

"Fuck!" His voice echoed in the still air. When he wiped the snow from his face, he could see her giggling a few yards away. He was lucky the snow wasn't too heavy or icy—that could have hurt like a bitch. She her laughter ceased suddenly when a snowball exploded at her feet. Reno swore again. He'd never been known for his deadly accuracy…

And so the snowball fight ensued. She was winning by a long shot—maybe he was even letting her win. After a while his hands were red and numb, and he found it hard to believe it wasn't the same for her.

"All right, all right," Tifa said, holding up her hands as he aimed a snowball at her. "You were right—I'm cold. Let's go inside," The snow was picking up anyway.

"You don't want me to leave?" He wasn't really sure why he was asking, but it was the first thing he could think of to say. He watched her light a fire—he heard her curse the fact that the heat was out.

She idly looked through the window at the snow. It fell fast and thick enough to be seen even in the dark. "Are you crazy? I can't let you walk home in this weather."

"But you just—"

"I know. Dragged you outside in it," She kept a straight face. "But this is different."

He didn't really see how it could possibly be different. _Unless…_

"Don't look at me like that."

God, he was getting easy to read.

"Go sit down," She rolled her eyes when he opened his mouth to say something. "Yes, _on the floor._"

He obediently complied after she disappeared into the kitchen. "So where's this… liquor cabinet of which you spoke?"

"Nuh-uh," Her voice carried into the living room. "You get enough free alcohol from me as it is. You'll take hot chocolate."

"…I'll take hot chocolate," he repeated, smirking and leaning back against the wall. _Don't fall asleep again…_

His eyes snapped open when she returned with a dark green flannel blanket and two mugs. He eyed the cocoa she gave him. It wouldn't give him a buzz, but it smelled really good.

It tasted really good too.

"Sorry it's so cold," she said sitting down beside him and tossing the blanket over the both of them. "This is the best I can do."

Once again, he didn't really have it in mind to protest. He shrugged. "It's fine," he turned to her, eyes gleaming. "Bet you wouldn't mind getting out of those wet clothes though."

She grinned back at him. "Oh you couldn't _be _more right…"

"…Yeah?"

"Definitely," He liked where this was going. "Which is why I changed before when you were falling asleep."

This was just getting frustrating. He narrowed his eyes. "You're a damn _evil _tease."

"Oops," she said sarcastically with a short laugh, leaning her head back.

"What about me then?" he asked after a while.

She casually observed the ceiling. "What _about _you?"

"Can't I at least change out of these pants?"

"I'm not letting you walk around without any pants on."

"You know, I'm starting to think you _don't _want to jump my bones."

She smirked at him and leaned in close. "If I did, I'd be trying to pounce on you _right now_."

"…Seriously?"

Tifa pulled back and her smile widened. "Maybe," she replied innocently.

He pretended to be angry but smiled good-naturedly. "A damn fuckin' tease!"

They talked about nothing in particular. Reno managed to slip in a few more suggestive comments as the hours passed. Tifa finished her hot chocolate and stopped caring what he said. Reno nearly spilled his on the carpet—after that, he decided to leave his mug alone. He already had muddy footprints to remove.

A silence ensued. He didn't surprise either of them by breaking it. "So… can I take my pants off now?"

"Sure, let's strip."

"…Really?"

"You know, you're either really gullible or you actually think you can get casual sex that easily," He wasn't gullible… what if she finally changed her mind and he missed it? She snorted. "_No, _not _really_. Besides, I'm sure your pants are dry by now."

"Yeah, well, they're not. C'mooooon I promise I'll put something on," he knew whining wouldn't make her more inclined, but that didn't stop him.

"Like _what? _I don't have anything for you to wear, and I'd be horrified to see you try to fit into any of my clothes."

That was true, at least. Her outfits were too skimpy for him to wear—not that he was planning on wearing them. _Way too skimpy… _"Sure you do… don't you have a pair of what's-his-face's pants lyin' around here somewhere or something?"

"What's-his-face?" She tried to look confused, but he wasn't fooled.

"Y'know uhh…" _Sky… sun…? _"Cloud," _Yeah, that's his name._

"Oh…" She scoffed again. Suddenly her voice sounded bitter. "No, why would I have anything of his around here?"

He'd obviously touched a nerve, but he pressed on anyway. "I dunno. I figured by now you guys would be having all kinds of crazy planet-saving-hero sex."

She slumped lower down the wall, hiding more of herself under the blanket. "No, that didn't happen."

Well even if they were together but not intimate he could be getting himself into a lot of trouble with the attention he gave her. "But then you're still—?"

"_No _Reno," He heard strain in her voice. "…He left me."

_Please tell me she's not crying…_An audible sniff. _Oh geez…_"He left?" _What an idiot. _"…Where'd he _go?_" _I mean seriously, what a fucking idiot!_

"I don't know," she said miserably, dabbing at her eyes with the blanket. "He just told me he couldn't stay with me. I guess I'm not angry but… I hate him for making me regret admitting my feelings for him. A lot of good that did me…"

So she had told Cloud how she felt. His name may have escape Reno, but he didn't forget how obvious it was that Tifa loved that spiky-haired moron. Reno could swear that just about everyone knew it except for the object of affection himself.

"He's not worth it," _Not worth YOU…_ He did happen to be trying to cheer her up but he meant what he said.A tear rolled down her cheek.

And he was holding her again.

She sniffled into his shirt. He was never any good at these situations, but if that was all the comfort she wanted then he could easily handle it. He let her carry on for a few minutes, occasionally pulling her closer and rubbing her back. He waited a few minutes for her to calm down. She rested her head against him and stared absently at his feet stretched out in front of him.

"Your hair's really long," he said after a sustained silence. Some strands had fallen into his lap. He picked them up and examined them with concealed interest.

She looked up at him—he could only make out a faint trace of red in her eyes now. "So's yours," she commented. "…And you're a _guy,_" she added after a while, with a hint of amusement. At least she was cheering up, even if it was at his expense.

"…What's that supposed to mean?"

She laughed a little. "I don't know."

After a while, her breathing became deep and even. He maneuvered them both to a better position on the floor—he wasn't going to wake up with a sore neck again, that was for sure—and he drifted off, following her into peaceful sleep.

He found two more buttons undone when he awoke. He gestured to his chest when she roused. "You know, if you have a subconscious need for sex, you can tell me. I'll be more than happy to help you out," he smirked.

She mirrored his expression. "Maybe I'm just trying to tell you that shirt looks bad on you."

"Yeah right. I look way hot in this shirt."

"Oh yes, so hot I don't think it even matters that the heat is broken."

"Damn straight," He grinned proudly.

She laughed a little and he followed her eyes to the clock. It was ten AM. The sound of melting snow dripping off the roof filled the brief stillness. "Okay… I think I can send you home now."

"You're gonna have to get off of me first," He enjoyed the embarrassment she suffered once he called attention to what she was doing.

He helped her up and she walked with him to the door. "I'm sorry for losing it last night," she told him when he was already standing in the open doorway.

"Nah, that wasn't losing it," He smiled at her. "You should see me when I get goin,'" He was pleased with the giggle he got from her.

"Thank you though," she said suddenly, and just as suddenly she stepped forward and hugged him tightly. She planted a quick kiss on his cheek when she pulled away.

His smile widened. _Well, it's better than nothing. _"And thank you for releasing me from your captivity. It's good to be a free man," He paused for effect. "However, I am a glutton for punishment and I will be back for more."

"Reno…"

"What?"

"You're starting to overstay your welcome!" she teased, pushing him out the door. "I'm not letting you back until you bring a steam-cleaner for my carpet," She stuck her tongue out at him and shut the door before he could respond.

_Overstaying my welcome? _He trudged through the heavy wet snow. _Well I certainly hope not_.

Reno had quite a lot more visiting and freeloading in him. Tifa could just _try _to get rid of him.

OoOoOoOoO

Review, would ya? Do it for Sir Paul this time, cause he puts on one hell of a concert.


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